Tinubu sets up committee to assess national threats, draw up five-year defence plan

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, on Wednesday inaugurated a presidential committee to develop a comprehensive National Threat Assessment and a rolling Five-Year Strategic Defence Operations Plan for Nigeria.

The committee, established by President Bola Tinubu, has been given 90 days to submit both documents for the President’s consideration and approval.

At the inauguration, the SGF urged members to approach the assignment with professionalism, objectivity, urgency and patriotism, describing it as a matter of considerable national importance.

He said the initiative was aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s ability to understand, anticipate and respond to an increasingly complex and evolving security environment.

According to him, contemporary security threats have become more interconnected and adaptive, often exploiting gaps between institutions, jurisdictions and operational theatres.

While acknowledging recent successes recorded by the Armed Forces and other security agencies, Akume said the government must move beyond responding to individual security challenges and establish a system capable of anticipating threats, setting priorities, allocating resources efficiently and sustaining operational momentum.

“In simple terms, we must establish a clear path from threat to objective, from objective to capability, from capability to resource, and from resource to measurable outcome,” he said.

The SGF said the National Threat Assessment would provide an objective assessment of Nigeria’s security landscape, including existing and emerging threats, their implications, likely evolution and appropriate government responses.